According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the United States, there are approximately 365,600 paid fire fighting positions; 70% of fire companies are staffed entirely by volunteers. Hence, there are approximately 1,216,666 fire fighters in the United States. As published in “Fire Chief,” Mar. 25, 2005, the economic cost for fire fighter injuries is $2.7 billion to $7.8 billion per year. Thus, there is a substantial need for a system that can locate and aid in the rescue of firefighters. Two examples will help drive home this point.
The first example involves the 2007 fire in Charleston, S.C. that claimed the lives of nine fire fighters. The fire occurred in a huge furniture showroom and warehouse. More than a dozen firefighters rushed inside to attack the flames. The building was loaded with flammable furniture, it had no sprinklers, and its steel truss roof allowed the fire to spread deceptively fast. As the smoke thickened and the firefighters' air supplies began to run low, several of the men apparently became disoriented and could not find their way out through the maze of furniture. By the time the incident commander ordered his men to flee the store, it was too late. If the fire fighters had had a location system, they could have navigated out of the warehouse.
The second example involves the 1999 fire in Worcester, Mass. that claimed the lives of six fire fighters. It started when a homeless individual knocked over a candle in an abandoned warehouse. The individual fled without reporting the fire. Thinking homeless individuals may still be in the warehouse, fire fighters undertook search operations. The search mission was extremely difficult because of the large size of the warehouse; the lack of windows; and easily combustible materials. Disoriented, the fire fighters could not find their way out of the warehouse.
In short, there exists a significant need for firefighter location awareness in support of situational awareness and rescue operations.